Aug 23 - Psalm 5:7

because of your great love

I can come into your house;

I can worship in your holy Temple

and bow down to you in reverence.

Psalm 5:7

GNT

I sometimes like to point people to the room they’re sitting in and say, “Imagine that this room is earth.” Then I point upward and say, “Imagine that the floor above us is heaven.”

“You can’t see heaven,” I say, “but it’s real. It’s there.”

Have you ever felt, however, that the barrier between heaven and earth was twenty feet thick? Have you ever felt like you’ve prayed and prayed, and all your prayers did was bounce off the ceiling and fall back down helplessly?

On the other hand, have you ever experienced moments when the barrier between heaven and earth has grown thin? Have you felt that God was very close?

One of the times I see this most clearly is when people are on their death bed. Rather than death being a moment of defeat, all who gather can sometimes feel the gentle embrace of God and his holy angels. Have you ever felt that?

In Isaiah 6, the prophet walks into the temple in Jerusalem. In this majestic room, he didn’t see the gold. He didn’t see the stone. He didn’t see the clamor of a thousand worshippers. He simply saw God.

The Lord was sitting high and lofty upon his throne. Just the stitching along the hem of God’s robe filled the entire temple. “Holy, Holy, Holy!” sang the seraphim, and as they flew, the pillars of the temple shook. The house of God filled with smoke, and in that moment, the barrier between heaven and earth was infinitesimally thin. Have you ever felt that?

Isaiah fell on his face and said, “Oops.”

That’s my translation. But isn’t that what you’d say if you met God? In my best moments, I’m an ant crawling on the hem of his garment. And then there are my other moments. I constantly need to fall on my face like Isaiah, and cry, “Woe is me” (Isa 6:5 NRSV).

With a live coal taken from the altar, God purified the prophet’s lips and life. God purifies you and me in a different way – with drops of blood, fallen from the cross.

I’m not worthy to enter God’s presence, and yet “because of [his] great love, I can come into [his] house.”

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s been given a key

to the house of the Lord

Aug 22 - Psalm 9:1

I will give thanks to the Lord

with my whole heart;

I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

Psalm 9:1

NRSV

Several years ago someone gave me a book by some famous self-help guru. It was called something like “The Secret of Happiness.” Since I counsel a lot of people with depression – and since I’ve occasionally dabbled in a little depression myself – I was curious to see what they said the secret was.

It was a big fat book. I skimmed for a whole hour. Finally I found “the secret of happiness.” What was it?

Psalm 9:1

Thanksgiving is the key to happiness.

Most of us are naturally selfish. We want what we want. And when we get it, we usually want more. We’re never really satisfied. Thanksgiving is the simple, wonderful antidote. It is, indeed, the simple, wonderful secret to a good life.

Instead of saying, “I want.” The secret to happiness is looking at our life, and saying thank you for whatever we do have.

My favorite story about thanksgiving is from Corrie Ten Boom’s The Hiding Place. Two elderly sisters hid Jews from the Nazi’s. When they were found out, they were sent to a Nazi Concentration Camp. Through a series of miracles, God enabled Corrie and her sister, Betsy, to keep their Bible and teach other prisoners.

One day, in the midst of deplorable conditions, they were reading 1 Thessalonians 5:18, and Betsy said, “It says to ‘give thanks in all circumstances.’ Therefore, we need to give thanks for the lice.”

Corrie screamed, “I will not give thanks for the lice.”

Betsy was insistent. Finally, Corrie complied – very grudgingly and very angrily. But the lice were a gift. The lice kept the Nazi guards out of their barracks and allowed these two sisters to proclaim light in the midst of darkness.

As you learn the art of thanksgiving, I won’t ask you to start by saying thanks for the lice in your life. (That takes an advanced degree in Gratitude.) Nevertheless, I will absolutely encourage you to quit saying “I want” and “I don’t have,” and start saying, “Thank you for all I do have.”

Think of it this way: In your life, have you grown more from the hard times or the easy times? Well … did you give God lavish praise for the trials? After all, they led to greater growth!

The Apostle Paul says, “Give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thes 5:18). The Psalmist says, “… give thanks to the Lord with [your] whole heart” (Ps 9:1).

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s learning to

spell “happiness”

t-h-a-n-k-y-o-u-G-o-d

Aug 21 - Ps 8:3-4

When I look at your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars

that you have established;

what are  … mortals

that you care for them?

Psalm 8:3-4

NRSV

I want to give you an assignment:

•     go to the beach (or to the nearest sand box),
•     fill a pail with sand,
•     and count all the grains.

No, thanks?!

How many grains of sand to a bucket? How many grains to a beach? How many grains to the great Sahara?

When God spoke to Abraham, he said, “I will make your offspring as numerous … as the sand …” (Gen 22:17).

It probably seemed like hyperbole, especially since God had also said, “I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven” (Gen 22:17).

I don’t know about you, but if I were Abraham, I’d rather count stars than sand. For most of human history, humans looked up and believed that there were only about a thousand stars in the sky. (And if I were counting, it’d seem like less than that since I’d choose a cloudy night to count.)

Our most recent and most powerful telescopes tell a different story, however. I’ve heard that nowadays scientists believe that there are literally as many stars in the heavens as there are grains of sand on earth. Wow!

Wow!

That’s why today’s question in Psalm 8 reverberates so powerfully in my heart? “[Lord,] when I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are  … mortals that you care for them?”

As Casting Crowns sings, “Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth would care to know my name, would care to feel my hurt, … would choose to light the way for my ever wandering heart.”

The great truth – and greatest wonder – of the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jesus, you, and me is that he cares for us personally:

     He “knit [us] together in [our] mother’s womb” (Ps 139:13).

     He numbers “the hairs of your head” (Lk 12:7).

     “He hears [your] prayers” (Prov 15:29).

     He “rescues the weak and helpless” (Ps 35:10).

     God chooses us (Eph 1:4), forgives us (1 Jn 1:9), guides us (Ps 37:23), and protects us (Ps 95:1); and it’s all because he loves us (Rom 5:5)!

God sent his Son to die for you and me (Jn 3:16). Indeed, Jesus “took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross” (Phil 2:7-8).

“How great is our Lord!” (Psalm 147:5)

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who hasn’t counted all the stars

or all the grains of sand,

but is making God’s job easier each year

by losing more hairs on his head

Aug 20 - Ps 7:14-15

The wicked … are …

pregnant with trouble

and give birth to lies.

They dig a pit to trap others

and then fall into it themselves.

Psalm 7:14-15

Men, let me save you a lot of grief. The most important question to NEVER ask a woman is …

Are you pregnant?

Even if the woman appears to be thirty-nine and a half weeks along, you’re better off talking about the weather until she’s holding the baby or she says something about it to you.

Good advice … nevertheless, I think it would be wise if we in society talked a little more about pregnancy – the Psalm 7 kind of pregnancy.

Too many people in our world are “pregnant with trouble.” Unfortunately, it’s politically incorrect to talk about wickedness nowadays. Only tolerance is tolerated.

As Christians, we are called to be loving. It should be our absolute calling card. But is tolerance really love?

Let me tell you a story: A friend of mine was recently trying to take a picture. To get the whole scene in the frame, she backed up … and backed up … and backed up … until she tripped. Falling, she broke both writes.

If we see someone backing up blindly toward the edge of a cliff, shouldn’t we warn them? Isn’t that the loving thing to do?

Wickedness is a cliff.

In just one book of the Bible – Proverbs – look at all the things that wickedness is associated with …

•     treachery and injustice (2:22, 19:28),
•     compromises and lies (25:26, 6:12),
•     hurt and harm (9:7),
•     danger and fear (28:15, 28:28),
•     cravings and addiction (10:3),
•     “shame and disgrace” (13:5),
•     worry and moaning (24:19, 29:2)
•     hatred and tyranny (29:27, 29:16),
•     darkness and trouble (4:19, 15:6),
•     alienation and evil (15:29, 15:28),
•     crushing, hatred and punishment (20:26,29:27, 21:18),
•     ravages and abomination (3:32, 11:11),
•     “contempt, shame, and disgrace” (18:3),
•     perversion and violence (17:23, 21:7),
•     futility and corruption (10:28, 10:32),
•     desolation and the weight of sin (10:30, 11:5),
•     “murderous ambush” and ensnaring traps (12:6, 12:13),
•     great wrath and “the curse of the Lord” (11:23, 3:33),
•     death and destruction (10:27, 3:25).

Look at that list! Tolerance is not loving. People we love are backing up blindly toward the edge of a cliff.

Wait! Read that last line again. Who’s backing up toward the edge of a cliff? “People we love.” Yes, we should absolutely love all people, but should we be yelling at people we don’t know?

People and churches that are great at evangelism are guided by a simple truth: You can’t expect non-Christians to act like Christians. In other words, we shouldn’t yell at non-Christians, even when we worry that they’re pregnant with trouble.

Instead, we should love them … and love them … and love them … and love them. And finally, when the time is right, then we should point out the cliff. Actually, we should point them to the one who bridges the cliffs and chasms with a cross.

There is a canyon between heaven and hell, life and death, hope and destruction. That canyon was carved by sin. But Jesus crossed it with a cross. His love brings forgiveness. Our love of unbelievers brings hope.

Yes, this world is pregnant with trouble. But love people and learn their story before you ask if they’re pregnant! In time, you can introduce them to the Father of Truth. With love, you can draw them from the father of lies.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s pregnant

… with hope

(Go Ahead: Ask me about it)

. . . . . .

Aug 18 - Psalm 6:2

Have compassion on me,

LORD, for I am weak.

Psalm 6:2

Did you hear the story about the poor man who ran up a bunch of bad debts?

That story is all over the news all of the time.

The story that is not all over the news – did you hear about this? – is the story about the rich man who’s been forgiving huge debts.

The accumulated debt that’s been forgiven by this tycoon is billions upon billions of dollars. At least, that’s the latest estimate I’ve heard of this man’s generosity.

Who is this rich man?

The rich man is God. In Matthew 18:23-35, Jesus tells a parable about the magnificence of God’s generosity.

A king calls in his debts. A poor servant falls down and essentially echoes our verse for today, “Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak.” And the king generously forgives the debt.

Leaving the king’s home, the poor servant encounters an even poorer servant. Though he’s recently been forgiven of a great debt, he won’t forgive the poor man a smaller debt. He callously ignores pleas like, “Have compassion on me … for I am weak.”

When I’ve heard the accounting of these debts in Jesus’ parable, I’ve always been led to believe that the debt that God forgives is big and the debt that the first servant refused to forgive is small. That’s not true.

• According to Jesus’ parable, the poorer servant owed the first servant 100 denarii. A denarii was equal to a normal day’s wage. Thus, 100 denarii was about a half a year’s salary. In modern American wages, imagine someone owing you twenty to thirty thousand dollars. That’s a big debt. 
• Which means what? Jesus is acknowledging the true cost of sin. Sometime people really do hurt us. They incur big debts. Thus Jesus is saying that he understands completely that sins are big, hurts are real, and forgiveness is not easy.
• If the debt owed to us by others is big, then what’s the debt owed by us to God? HUGE!

The poor man, we are told, owed the king 10,000 talents. Now do some math: If just one talent was worth twenty years’ wages, that means 10,000 talents was worth 200,000 years of wages.

Here’s another way to put it. When Jesus was telling this parable, the entire gross national product of the entire roman empire was less than 1000 talents. Thus, Jesus was saying, humans owe a debt to God that is ten times all the money that was being traded in the entire Western world!

In modern American terms, if our current GDP is about $14 trillion dollars, that means your debt to God is about $140 trillion dollars.

That’s the cost of Jesus’ death to you.

I think I’d better put on knee pads!

I need to fall on my knees and pray, “Have compassion on me, LORD, for I am weak” … and needy … and desperate … and willful … and sinful … proud.

And then I need to fall on my face and beg for compassion for another weakness. I need to confess that I’m unforgiving too.

“Lord, you’ve forgiven me for so very much.

Help me forgive the real but lesser debts

that others have incurred with me.

Help me reflect your grace.”

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who after subtracting

his entire net worth

still owes $140,000,000,000,000

, however, falls before the recently forgiven servant, he won’t extend the same generosity.

In this parable, he tells about a servant who owes a king ten thousand talents. A talent was worth ________. That adds up to _________.

Jesus’ point? He’s saying that’s how much every single one of us owes God. The Son of God died on a cross for you. How much do you owe him? Billions!

Or let’s put that another way: How much do you owe him? Everything.

In the parable, the poor man “fell down before the king and begged him, 'Oh, sir, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.'” The result? “The king was filled with pity for him … and forgave his debt.”

That’s our verse for today. It is King David … and you … and me … falling down on our knees and saying, “Have compassion on me, LORD, for I am weak.”

But here’s another weakness that you, me, and King David have – though we’ve been forgiven much, we still have trouble forgiving others.

As a pastor, perhaps a quarter of the counseling I do boils down to the inability to forgive a “debt.” Imagine … something bad has happened. It is legitimately bad. In the parable, Jesus goes on to tell of the servant who’s been forgiven much, encountering another servant who owes him money. I’d always heard that this debt was a tiny pittance. For example, if the first slave owed the king a million dollars. The second slave owed the first one a few bucks. That’s not the way Jesus told the story.

The second debt was a major debt too. One hundred denarii was a half year’s wage.

Imagine! What’s a half year’s wages to you and your family? In America, that’s tens of thousands dollars. If someone – figuratively or literally – refused to repay me that kind of a debt, I’d be financially hurt. I would be angry, surely. I would probably be tempted to never forgive.

And that’s my weakness. Indeed, that’s a weakness that’s common to most all of us. Indeed, that’s why this story is one of the most powerful of the parables. Though we’ve been forgiven much, we still have trouble forgiving others. And that’s why every one of us needs to fall on our knees and pray, “Have compassion on me, LORD, for I am weak.”

Remember, it’s not just that you owe Jesus for dying in order to forgive you for a long list of sins.

It’s that you owe him for giving you another chance to forgive those who’ve offended you – even in big ways.

Who do you know who “owes” you a great debt. Start praying today for the ability to forgive them.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who knows

that if he’s going to look like Jesus,

he’d better start imitating

his greatest trait: forgiveness.

Aug 17 - Psalm 4:7

You have given me greater joy

than those who have abundant harvests

of grain and wine.

Psalm 4:7

NLT

“Eat, drink, and be merry!” Do you know where that phrase comes from?

In Luke 12:16-21, Jesus told the story about a rich man with an abundant harvest. Perhaps you’ve heard the story. His outbuildings were so full that he tore down his old sheds and built bigger barns. Figuring that he’d finally accumulated enough wealth, the rich man said, “Now [I can] take it easy! [It’s time to] eat, drink, and be merry!”

Isn’t that what today’s verse describes as “The Normal Human Standard of Joy”?

Three thousand years ago, the human standard of success was abundant harvests, vast supplies of wine, and an excess of accumulated wealth.

It’s the same standard today, isn’t it?

A classic bumper sticker reads, “The one who dies with the most toys wins!”

An even more classic bumper sticker reads, “The one who dies with the most toys still dies.”

Jesus could have penned the second bumper sticker. In his story about the plump, drunk rich man, God cried from heaven, “You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get it all?” (Yes, the one who dies with the most toys still dies.)

That’s why Jesus said – Luke 12:21 – “A person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God."

The greatest richness in all the world is a real relationship with God. In fact, everything else is fool’s gold. Everything else is a temporary illusion of happiness and security. Or – as today’s verse implies – the “great[est] joy” in all the world is “You [O Lord.]”

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who loved his grandpa’s old barn

(it was big and red, but only temporary;

a few years ago, a tornado took it down)

Aug 16 - Psalm 3:3

You, O LORD, are

a shield around me, my glory,

and the one who lifts my head high.

Psalm 3:3

What are you most afraid of?

Some will say spiders and snakes. Others are afraid of heights. Others quake at the mere thought of speaking in public.

Trace those fears back to their roots, though, and you’ll find that what we’re really afraid of is death.

•     We don’t like ladders and heights because we’re afraid that we might fall and die.
•     We don’t like dogs that bark and snakes that crawl because they might bite us and we might die.
•     We don’t like speaking in public because we might be embarrassed.

Wait … embarrassment is not a death.

No, not technically. But every time we’re embarrassed, we die a thousand little deaths. Every time someone gossips about us, it’s little a thousand little stabs in the heart. Every time we’re perceived as week or needy or foolish or vulnerable, it’s like a thousand little pin pricks.

As many opportunities as we have to sin, fail, and fall short (see Romans 3:23), you’d think we’d be accustomed to being pin cushions. But we’re not. We’re brittle. Therefore, instead of venturing boldly forward into life, too many of us isolate ourselves. We guard our feelings and hide our hearts.

Today’s verse tells us, however, that we should really be a little bolder. After all, we have “a shield around [us].” What is that shield? It is God – “You, O Lord, are a shield around me.”

I can still remember where I was when a light bulb went off in my wife’s head … and it sparked a newfound confidence in my heart. Reflecting on Romans 3:24, she said, “If God justifies us, we do we spend so much time trying to justify ourselves.”

Wow! Simple but profound.

We all waste so much time and effort in life trying to look good in the eyes of others. But really, there’s only one who’s opinion really matters … and that’s God! And God loves us. And forgives us. He calls us his child. He watches over our days. And by his grace, even death isn’t deadly anymore. Indeed, death is just the gate to heaven and an even better life.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s still

wise about ladders

and wary of snakes,

but is free in God’s

justifying grace!

Aug 15 - Psalm 2:1

Why do the people

waste their time

with futile plans?

Psalm 2:1

Futile means ineffective and worthless. It implies a lack of success. It means being utterly incapable of producing any positive result.

For example, my running a marathon would be absolutely futile …

… or would it?

In my present condition, coughing up a lung is much more likely than racing twenty-six miles. Nevertheless, with a lot of effort, I suppose I could whip myself into shape. Therefore, a marathon is improbable, but not futile.

Perhaps escaping the laws of nature is futile. Or is it? We cheat gravity (every time a plane takes flight). We breathe underwater (with scuba gear). We project our voice halfway around the world (through telephones). We even try to cheat death and destruction as we fight fires and battle cancer.

What, then, is futile? Utterly futile? Psalm 2 reveals the most futile thing in all the world. It is “plot[ting] against the LORD”!

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve never “plotted” against the Lord.

And yet, I do it all the time.

None of us wakes up in the morning, looks in the mirror, and says, “I think I’ll be God today!” And yet that’s how we constantly act. We do what we want … when we want to do it. We make our own plans without consulting God (and then blame him when things go wrong). And most of us are just “little people.”

What about kings and business tycoons? The more earthly authority humans wield, the more prone we are to mistake that for real power. But today’s Psalm tells us the truth. It says that great “nations” may “rage,” mighty “rulers” may “plot,” and proud people may be under the illusion that we can “free ourselves,” but “the one who rules in heaven laughs.”

Some find that depressing.

I think it’s hopeful.

I know the trajectory of my life. I may momentarily stall the inevitable for another thirty or forty years, but my future is grayer hair, lesser strength, and weaker heart. If I’m in charge of my destiny, it’s ashes to ashes and dust to dust. Nevertheless, my future is not futile! When I let God be in charge of my destiny, it’s hopeful … and eternal.

Any power that I have is an illusion. It is temporary at best. Even more so, it is a gift.

God has created the circumstances of my birth – rich or poor, slave or free, an age of prosperity or a season of war. He’s breathed every skill – and every limitation – into my life. My health is a gift. My weakness is also a gift (because it encourages me to depend on God). For me to plot against God – and expect to win – is the very definition of futile.

To humble myself and depend on God is the very secret of hope … and peace … and joy.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy with grayer hair

and a brighter life

Aug 14 - Psalm 1:3

They are like trees planted along the riverbank,

bearing fruit each season without fail.

Their leaves never wither,

and in all they do, they prosper.

Psalm 1:3

NLT

When I lived in New Mexico for many years, desert browns and juniper greens dominated the landscape.

Each October, however, a new color was added to the palette. Bright ribbons of cottonwood-yellow proudly announced the location of the valley’s rivers and streams.

These trees didn’t mean to disclose the location of the desert’s water, but they couldn’t help it. Only in the streambeds could a deciduous tree have a fighting chance in the dry soil, and their fall colors always disclosed the secret of living water.

That’s the simple analogy of Psalm 1. Much of Israel is like much of New Mexico; therefore, God’s people have always readily understood that it’s only in the streambeds that …

roots go deep,

fruit grows ripe, and

“leaves never wither.”

This Psalm invites you and me to be “like trees planted along the riverbank.” In fact, it tells us how to do this.

•      When we follow the path of righteousness – see verses 1 and 3 – scripture tells us that we will be happy, blessed, and fruitful.
•      When we follow, however, “the advice of the wicked” – see verses 1 and 4 – we will be “like chaff that the wind drives away.”

Which path are you following?

The path you choose will determine 1) where you wind up, 2) where you’ll be planted, and 3) what kind of fruit you’ll produce. Indeed, how many of us have been in the wrong place at the wrong time and with the wrong people ... and then been dumb enough to be surprised by the wrong results?!

I don’t know about you, but I want to produce strawberries of love, instead of the poison mushrooms of dissension. I want to grow the tangerines of joy, instead of the mold of anger. I want to nurture the grape vines of peace instead of the bacteria of wickedness.

But the choice is mine.

And the choice is yours.

Therefore, scripture repeatedly invites us to plant ourselves by streams of living water.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants a green thumb

instead of a gangrene heart

(see Gal 5:22-23 instead of Gal 5:19-21)

Aug 13 - Psalm 1:1

Oh, the joys of those who

do not follow the advice of the wicked,

or stand around with sinners,

or join in with scoffers.

Psalm 1:1

NLT

Psalms is the longest book of the Bible.

It is the prayer book of the scriptures.

What is its purpose?

I’m convinced that one of the purposes of the entire book of Psalms is in its third word – “joy”!

Other translations render this first verse as a beatitude – a so-called “attitudes of how to be.” How can we be “happy”? How can we be “blessed”? How can our attitude be full of “joys”? In the very first verse, the Psalms give us three suggestions:

• “Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked …” (NRSV).
• “Blessed are those who do not … sit in the company of mockers” (TNIV).
• And “oh, the joys of those who do not … stand around with sinners …” (NLT).

Have you heard the phrase, “You are what you eat”? Most parents teach their children a similar principle: “You begin to resemble the people you hang around with!” That’s how the Psalms begin.

From these three examples, we now have a partial list of things to avoid, if we crave a little more joy. But here’s an equally important question: Is there anything positive we can do to encounter greater joy?

My favorite place to go to discover a positive source of joy is the Gospel of Luke. Story after story proclaims that whenever God’s reign, rule, and kingdom break into human lives, there is joy!

Take a look at these examples …

• For hundreds of years before the birth of John the Baptist, the prophets had been silent, but then an angel came to Zechariah heralding the arrival of the forerunner to the Messiah, saying, “You will have great _____ and gladness, and many will rejoice with you at [John the Baptist’s] birth” (Luke 1:14).
• When the first human encountered the Messiah at barely the dawning of this infant King’s reign, John the Baptist – even in utero – “leapt for joy”! (Luke 1:44).
• When the angels appeared to the shepherds, they weren’t just proclaiming the birth of a baby; they were proclaiming the coming of the a King: "Don't be afraid! … I bring you good news of great _____ for everyone!” (Luke 2:10).
• In the Beattitudes, Jesus tells us, Luke 6:21, that, “God blesses [those] who weep now [in this world that’s under the reign of sin and death, but when we accept the reign of Christ and enter the fullness of his kingdom,] the time will come when [we] will laugh with _____.” “Yes, leap for _____,” continues Christ the King in Luke 6:23, “for a great reward awaits you in heaven.”
• In the parables, Jesus says, Luke 8:13, that “those who hear the message [of Kingdom and Messiah] [and] believe [discover] _____.” But he simultaneously warns of the danger of “shallow roots” and “wilt[ing] when the hot winds of testing blow.”
• When “even one sinner repents,” says Jesus in Luke 10:21, “there is _____ …” Indeed that’s what the sinner Zacchaeus discovered when he opened his house and his heart to King Jesus, “great excitement and _____,” (Luke 19:6).
• At the resurrection – when the full glory of the king was being revealed – his followers were “filled with _____ and wonder” (Luke 24:41). Then when Christ the King ascended to his heavenly throne, we are told that the disciples “worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem with great _____.”

As you journey through the Psalms remember the third word – Joy! That’s the word that fills in every blank above, and that’s what fills in all the greatest blanks and holes in our lives.

As scripture tells us, you can avoid a lack of joy by staying away from sinners. Or you can discover the blessing of joy, positively, by drawing nearer to the King!

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants

to discover greater joy!

Daily Devotional Group

Daily Devotions will be starting back very soon!

Two things before then …

 

Are you looking to grow your faith this fall?

Join one of several fall Discipleship Studies.

Are you looking to grow your faith even more?

Then take a leap of faith. Lead a study!

Call me! We’ll train you, and you’ll be blessed!

Last Chance to Submit Stories of Faith.

Some of you said you were going to …

This is your final reminder!